COASTAL PREMIUMS RISING:

Coastal property owners in Rhode Island are facing rising insurance costs. Insurance experts say some insurers are attaching more conditions to their coverages while others have stopped offering coverage to coastal homeowners. Some waterfront homeowners have been asked to get wind and hurricane deductibles up to 5 percent of replacement costs. “If (insurers) find any issues with a coastal property, they aren’t going to insure it,” John Golembeski, president of the Rhode Island Joint Reinsurance Association, told Associated Press.
The state’s rising coastal insurance mirrors what is happening nationwide. It is driven in part by new storm models that predict Rhode Island would have $12 billion to $15 billion in damage from a direct hit by a hurricane like the one that swept up Narragansett Bay in 1938. “We haven’t been hit by a hurricane in 20 years. Statistically, we’re overdue,” said Dennis Charland, executive director of the Independent Insurance Agents of R.I. The rates’ rise also is due to higher property values, higher construction costs and higher reinsurance costs.